Telangana rejects MHA’s idea of a joint force in Hyderabad

Already at the loggerheads with the Centre on Polavaram Bill, the government headed by TRS in Telangana has opposed the government’s proposal to have a joint force for controlling the law and order situation in Hyderabad and a special cell to deal with hate crime there.

The home ministry had sought Telangana government’s opinion on a proposal which, among others, proposed that the law and order in Hyderabad be dealt by a joint force comprising police of the new state and residuary Andhra Pradesh.

Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad has been made the joint capital of the two states for 10 years and their governor has been entrusted with the responsibility of maintenance of law and order in Hyderabad.

“The common capital area is an integral part of Telangana state. There cannot be any joint force in the common capital area as law and order is a state subject and the police officers of another state cannot have any jurisdiction here,” principal secretary (general administration department) of the Telangana government, Ajay Mishra conveyed to the Home Ministry in a communication.

The local government also informed the home ministry that “an officer will be designated in the office of the Director General of Police” to deal with issues of hate crimes and crimes related to extortion or any other specified crime and ensure speedy trial.

Incidentally, a day long bandh was observed in Telangana on Saturday in protest against the passage of a Bill in the Lok Sabha that envisages transfer of some villages of the newly-created state to Andhra Pradesh to aid the construction of the Polavaram project.